Globalstar's broadband terrestrial low-power service (TLPS) "is a good neighbor" to Wi-Fi operations on IEEE 802.11 Channel 11 and other channels and Bluetooth device operations within an unlicensed band at 2400-2483.5 MHz, the company said. It cited a recently completed TLPS demonstration at the agency's Technology Experience Center, in a filing Friday in docket 13-213. Bluetooth, cable and other interests have criticized that demo (see 1503190025). "Globalstar’s demonstration showed that Bluetooth-enabled devices, including a heart rate monitor, wireless speaker, and various computer mouses, worked without any service impact in the presence of TLPS," said the filing on the satellite company's meeting with an aide to FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai. "Consumers will benefit significantly from the provision of TLPS across 22 megahertz of additional broadband spectrum in the 2.4 GHz band." Globalstar said it seeks adoption of the commission's proposed TLPS rules.
BNP Paribas and Globalstar executives met with FCC officials to rebut criticism of the satellite company's demonstration at the agency of terrestrial low-power service (see 1503130015), while a critic of the company's TLPS request slammed the demo. Globalstar’s filings and website "perfectly illustrate why their demonstration system should not be used to decide policy: their 'Bluetooth-TLPS Demonstration' system was unlikely to cause interference ~90% of the time," said Gerst Capital in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 13-213. "Their conditions were far from challenging, and do not represent real world interference scenarios." Others who observed the test have said similar things, while Globalstar has called Gerst a short seller that profits from creating doubt (see 1503130016). At their meeting with front-office International Bureau officials, representatives from BNP Paribas, which has said it's an agent to some Globalstar lenders, and executives from the satellite company supported TLPS. The commission should "expeditiously" adopt rules it proposed in 2013 to let Globalstar provide TLPS mobile broadband service in its spectrum at 2483.5-2495 MHz and adjacent, unlicensed spectrum, said representatives of the bank. Globalstar demonstrated that TLPS is compatible with existing Bluetooth and Wi-Fi operations in the 2.4 GHz band, said representatives including CEO Jay Monroe, Chief Financial Officer Rebecca Clary and General Counsel Barbee Ponder. Globalstar and the Bluetooth Special Interest Group "mutually agreed on the operational parameters for the Bluetooth demonstrations," said the company in a filing posted Thursday to the docket. "CableLabs’ TLPS/Wi-Fi demonstration set-up was in no sense representative of a real-world deployment," said Globalstar of the cable research and development group, which like the Bluetooth group has expressed concerns about the demo. "Any results provided by CableLabs in this proceeding should be entirely discounted."
The Defense Information Systems Agency gave Harris Corp. a contract with a potential value of $450 million to provide systems engineering and program management services for the agency’s crisis management system, said a company news release Thursday. Harris has supported the system since 2004 and will continue to provide 'round the clock on-call, on-site corrective maintenance for all related hardware and software components.
Protecting its market power from erosion by online video is Comcast’s incentive to hold back content and throttle online video distributors (OVDs), said Netflix in an ex parte filing posted online in docket 14-57 Thursday. Though Comcast has argued it wouldn’t have incentive to foreclose OVDs, Netflix disagreed. Comcast’s theory that foreclosing OVDs isn’t desirable because it wouldn’t provide the cable giant with new market power relies on the assumption that Comcast doesn’t fear losing market power to OVDs, Netflix said. “OVD substitution of traditional Comcast services is both real and recognized by Comcast itself as potentially undermining its position in the market,” Netflix said. Comcast’s internal documents, released as part of the merger review, also show concern about the market threat of OVD, Netflix said in a heavily redacted section of the filing. Comcast didn't comment.
The FCC’s net neutrality order will hurt small edge providers despite the agency’s contention otherwise in a footnote in the order, NERA Economic Consulting said in a paper Wednesday. CALinnovates commissioned NERA to do a paper on the economic ramification of classifying broadband under Communications Act Title II and submitted it as part of the group’s comments in the net neutrality proceeding, the statement said. The agency said it disagreed with the initial paper’s findings, saying it didn't take into account forbearances in the order. “Simply forbearing from selected sections of Title II does not reverse our findings, nor does the FCC provide any evidence that it should,” NERA said in Wednesday's paper. “If anything, we understated the effects this Order has on innovation as it inserts regulatory uncertainty well beyond [that] already contained in Title II.” The order “implements a far-reaching regulatory scheme that is beyond (in many ways) what we envisioned,” the firm said. Among other things, the scope of the order is unclear, because the meaning of terms “broadband Internet access service” and “reasonable network management” will be up for debate, bringing regulatory uncertainty.
The FCC is wrong in findings in its net neutrality order that wireless subscribers can’t readily switch carriers, CTIA said Wednesday. “Based exclusively on a single filing of public interest groups that lacks basic analytical rigor, the FCC suggests that consumers have no effective ability to switch wireless carriers today,” said a blog post by Krista Witanowski, assistant vice president-regulatory affairs. The order calls switching costs “a significant factor” in wireless carriers’ ability to “threaten the open nature of the Internet,” she said. It has never been easier for subscribers to switch providers, she said. “A simple trip to the mall or large retail store would ease any perceived concerns. It has never been easier for consumers to change mobile providers in this fiercely competitive mobile marketplace.”
Approval of the Comcast/Time Warner Cable deal and the transfer of licenses between Comcast and Charter Communication, would “severely harm competition” and slow the growth of new technologies and networks, representatives of Comptel, NTCA and the Independent Telephone & Telecommunications Alliance told FCC officials, including General Counsel Jonathan Sallet, in a March 12 meeting, according to an ex parte filing posted in docket 14-57 Tuesday. Restricting innovation and competition “could impact job creation, consumer prices, and economic growth,” the filing said. Among those attending the meeting were Comptel Chief Advocate Angie Kronenberg and Assistant General Counsel Mary Albert; NTCA Vice President-Legal and Industry Jill Canfield; ITTA Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Micah Caldwell; Global Economics Group Principals Richard Schmalensee and Howard Chang; and Markham Erickson and Andrew Guhr of Steptoe & Johnson. On the claims about competition, the filing pointed to a separate Steptoe & Johnson filing the same day, which said Comcast/TWC would give Comcast "unprecedented market power" over video distribution, "both as an owner and/or controller of content and as a buyer with tremendous leverage to extract even lower prices for unaffiliated content." The deal would also harm innovation in the set-top box market, the filing said. TWC before the deal had been trying to enable third parties to develop innovative devices for its cable system, the filing said. Comcast, rather than encouraging third-party innovation, "has spent significant resources" developing its own proprietary, closed platform," the Steptoe filing said. "The immediate result of this transaction would be to limit, rather than expand, consumer access to competitive set-top boxes. The demise of FanTV immediately upon the announcement of Comcast’s announced purchase of TWC, suggests that the transaction has already had a chilling effect on innovation." Comcast didn't comment.
Commissioners unanimously approved a final order on an FTC settlement with TRUSTe for allegedly misleading consumers about its privacy program, said a commission news release Wednesday. The order followed a public comment period and prohibits TRUSTe from making “misrepresentations about its certification process, its corporate status, or whether an entity participates in its programs,” it said. “TRUSTe must not provide other companies or entities with the means to make misrepresentations about these facts, such as through incorrect or inaccurate model language.” TRUSTe must pay $200,000. “TRUSTe’s agreement with the FTC was related to two of our prior business processes and we took swift action to address both of these issues in 2013,” said CEO Chris Babel in a statement Wednesday. “We remain committed to developing new data privacy management products and services to help businesses address evolving data privacy challenges.” The FTC and TRUSTe reached an initial settlement in November.
If the FCC grants Pandora’s application to buy KXMZ(FM), Box Elder, South Dakota, the FCC should “condition the grant on Pandora's agreement not to assert entitlement to the [American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers] Radio Group License prior to January 1, 2017,” ASCAP said in an ex parte filing posted in docket 14-109 Wednesday. Pandora has been seeking to buy the station since 2013 (see 1306170033). “This would allow Pandora to own KXMZ, which is what it says it wants, but it would mitigate the public interest harms by enabling the music industry, radio broadcasters and Pandora to continue ongoing efforts to resolve issues that, if not resolved, threaten to lead music licensors to take steps that would ultimately impact negatively the bulk of the commercial radio industry,” said ASCAP. Songwriters and music publishers have said that Pandora’s purchase of the station could provide the digital broadcaster with the same publishing royalty rates as terrestrial competitors, which would provide the former with a competitive advantage.
The NTIA’s Broadband Technologies Opportunities Program (BTOP) has been a success, NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling said Wednesday at a Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy event on the National Broadband Plan. “We all know there’s still much more work to be done,” he said. BTOP grantees have deployed more than 113,000 miles of new or upgraded broadband connections and connected more than 25,000 “community anchor” institutions. Hundreds of thousands of Americans now have broadband as a result of the program, he said. The plan itself was key in raising an early alert about the need for more spectrum for wireless broadband, Strickling said. “It seems obvious today, but I don’t think it was quite so obvious back in 2010, the speed with which wireless devices were going to take over,” he said.